Background

If you are looking at this site then I would imagine that things have got to a point in your life where you want change! I am an experienced accredited Counsellor and I have worked in a therapeutic setting for the last 12 years. I work in a holistic way which includes looking at your thoughts, feelings, life experiences and behaviours. Many people have patterns that repeat themselves throughout their lives and can result in them feeling the same way over and over again. In reaction to this, you can end up feeling either emotionally or physically overwhelmed, or numb – where you don’t feel anything at all.

I understand that for some people, the decision to seek a counsellor can be a very overwhelming and difficult task and it is important that you find a counsellor that you feel comfortable working with. This can usually become clear through a telephone call or a first meeting. Often, when people are seeking counselling it is due to either internal feelings or external events which are impacting on the quality of their life. Counselling can provide you with a shared space in which you can explore yourself, your thoughts, your feelings and your behaviours. Having a new awareness around these ways of being enables you to feel a sense of empowerment and control over your life and allows you to make the changes that you feel necessary to experience a more fulfilled and meaningful existence. Remember: if you are willing to make the necessary changes, change can, and does, happen.

Counselling is a space where you can have a different experience of relating, where you are able to explore safely, and in a non-judgmental way, your thoughts, feelings, behaviours and experiences – some that you may have never shared with another – or alternatively, you have shared them and it has brought about another negative experience. Successful therapy, in my experience, is largely due to the relationship that you are able to have with your counsellor, which is why it is so important to find the right counsellor for you. Trust your intuition when choosing a counsellor, be aware of how you feel, ask yourself questions about how your body is feeling when you meet or speak to the counsellor, whether you feel heard, whether you feel valued and validated or if you are comfortable talking about difficult topics.

It is okay for you to ask the counsellor questions to alleviate any fears, hopes or expectations you have. There are many different ways of working through your issues: you are a unique individual and each individual responds differently to different ways of working together.

Whilst I work across all areas, I also specialise in working with survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, sexual violence and Trauma.

Testimonials

“I have been seeing Cat for the last 14 months. When I arrived, emotionally I was lost. I was 51, saddled with baggage that was 45 years old along with a lot of current issues. I really felt there was no point carrying on. Gradually, (I am a slow learner) she chipped away and we built up the first ever intimate relationship I have ever had.

I have at times wanted to give up and walk away. Cat has never pressured me into staying but just set out the pro’s and cons to me allowing me to make any decisions myself. Going from someone who prayed not to wake up each night, I no longer feel like that. I have a long way to go but with Cat’s skill, professionalism and care, nothing is impossible.

I have seen several counsellors over the last 20 + years, each in their own way has helped, but Cat has really stuck with me, dismantled me and is slowly putting me back together like the cracked vase I was when i arrived.

No-one has ever got to my core – somehow Cat has managed to, she has got the truth out of me and found the real me – not the one I portray to the world.”

“An amazing experience, how can I ever thank you enough Kate? You quickly banished my deep scepticism that counselling could help me. I now understand much more about myself. This has transformed many areas of my life, most importantly my relationship with myself but also with my wife, children and work. Your honest approach made me trust you entirely and enabled me to explore my deeper self and issues I never really knew existed, or rather never understood. You helped me overcome my fears and face my issues and in the process enabled me to reach a place of understanding acceptance and resolve. You are a marvel. I am a calmer, happier person with a healthier outlook on life and an assured confidence to treat myself with the respect I deserve.”

After years of periodic depression and anxiety attacks I found Cat. I have been seeing Cat for almost a year now which has simply flown by. She has helped me more than any other therapist I have met over the years. She portrays such wonderful strength and understanding in my sessions and I have, since day one, always got the sense that she really cares about what is happening in my life and she always remembers my history and the many many things I have imparted to her over the months which is so important.

I came to Cat feeling very much the wounded child within which was permeating my every day life and keeping me in a position of powerlessness and self deprecating negativity. Since seeing Cat I have learned how to appropriately compartmentalise the inner child, recognizing that although that ‘little girl’ has her place in my life, she can take a back seat and allow the adult self to come to the fore and run my life. This has been almost life saving for me. I used to suffer with frequent suicidal thoughts and I can honestly say that the work that Cat has guided me though during my sessions and the helpful suggestions and gentle advice she has given me has resulted in, for the first time since my teens, the absence of any suicidal thoughts for the last 6 months!! I have also grown so much that a by product has been I have been able to get onto a tube in London with no fear and no panic for the first time in 10 years.

I would recommend Cat to anyone who is struggling with life however small or however big a challenge they find themselves with. Cat is utterly unshockable, completely non-judgmental. I feel totally safe in her company and whilst I know she is a locked vault of confidentiality with my private information I also get the true sense that she keeps me in mind from week to week as I am certain she does with all of her many clients. A wonderful quality.

Whilst I feel I would like to continue seeing Cat for the foreseeable future I know there will come a time when I feel safe and secure enough to ‘go it alone’ knowing I have had such incredible guidance from such a well qualified, strong and caring therapist.

Thank you Cat, you really are a wonderful therapist and I am so lucky to have found you.

I have been receiving counselling from Cat for a little over one year. I was given her details from relate as they suspected that I needed specialist support after attending some sessions with them as my marriage was falling apart. I was initially very reluctant to address my childhood as I believed that I had a clear perspective on my past, and just wanted to make my husband ‘behave’.

I had seen many mental health professionals over the years, however I always felt that there was something I could not communicate and always felt misunderstood. The first time I spoke to Cat I was struck by her empathetic yet plain talking. This was perfect for me, as I do not tolerate self pity or sickly sympathy! Although she was direct, I felt for the first time ever that I was being heard; even though I didn’t know what it was that I was trying to say!

I met Cat in person a short while later, I found her to be a powerful presence, warm and kind but streetwise and strong. It was such a relief to meet someone who was able to understand me. We have done a lot of ‘re-parenting’ work which has enabled me to acknowledge the full extent of my parents failings. This in turn has enabled me to release much of my anger, and to find some worth in my inner strength. Although Cat has special training to help the survivors of sexual abuse, she has never let this be the main focus of our sessions. She validates the damage done to me by my abusive parents without ever pushing for something I cannot yet remember. Cat frequently set me homework, which I very rarely did, as sitting with my own emotions has always been too difficult for me. Instead of being cross, she gave me books to read. This was an astute move on her part as I love to read. The phrase ‘knowledge is power’ is one of my favourites; working with Cat has given me lots of new knowledge, helping me to feel empowered in my day to day life.

Cat’s example of a strong and independent woman who is able to experience a full range of emotions without becoming a wreck, has been invaluable to me. Prior to my counselling I was so angry, and used my anger to force people to keep their distance. I avoided true intimacy at all costs, through emotional detachment and alcohol.

I feel I have come a long way with Cat’s help, my life is much improved as I am more aware of my own feelings and boundaries. I am also able to communicate more effectively with my husband, which helps my life at home to be calmer. Overall I am slowly finding some self esteem and feel optimistic for the future. I have started doing more homework between my sessions and I am finding it easier to manage my own emotions. With Cat’s support and encouragement I am beginning to treat myself with more kindness, I am drinking less and exercising more.

Despite the heavy subjects we cover in my sessions, we always find something to laugh at and I always leave feeling refreshed. My only concern about recovery is the emptiness and loss that will be felt when I am adult enough to no longer need her.

I was sexually abused by my father and was emotionally neglected by my mother. I had gone through a life that was two dimensional, black and white. My life was a cycle of self loathing, a feeling of deep shame of just wanting to hide away from the world. I functioned by going to work and by drinking. I was not comfortable anywhere as anywhere I was I was still me. I had a pattern of behaviour that I could not break but a pattern that I thought was ” normal ” as I had not experienced anything else. I was not living a life I purely existed in a state of total anxiety and fear.I knew that I had to get help; I had tried in the past, hypnotherapists, Counsellors, alternative therapy. All of these failed dismally to the point to which I felt I could not be helped. Then one day I was listening to LBC on the radio at work I heard about one in four (children sexually abused). It was my first light bulb moment. Counsellors counselling people who had been abused by people who had been abused themselves.

This is where I met Catherine. I was initially like a rabbit caught in the headlights. I was totally in awe. Therapy with Catherine was hard work (especially for her) one step forward two steps back, my cycle of self destructive behaviour a continuing factor. Catherine had a very professional but humanistic approach to therapy and I totally believed (believe) in her. She talked me through my feelings and experiences; she has enormous empathy not just in her words but in her eyes. She shared some of her own experiences when appropriate which was of enormous help. She taught me how to realise that I could change the way I looked at the world. That your brain could almost be changed like the software on a computer. You are the master of your own destiny. Catherine saw my shame and self loathing and she explained it to me so I understood it and confronted it and realised, eventually, that it was a product of my upbringing and not actually intrinsically me. Catherine shared her books with me and recommends books that have opened a whole new meaning to my life. She has such an amazing vibe and connection that is hard to explain. She so obviously loves what she does and has an amazing gift.

My life thanks to Catherine is no longer two dimensional, black and white but three dimensional and in colour. I cannot express enough the gratitude as Catherine has changed my life. I now have a life that I am looking forward to living, something I would never have dreamed of.